Atlanta Fire Rescue Foundation: 
 
There are those who believe that sometimes things happen for a reason. A grease fire destroyed your very first restaurant in New York City. Luckily nobody was injured but you lost everything as a result. Fortunately, you turned that lemon into lemonade. What can you share with us about that? 
 
Pinky Cole:  
 
To help put my answer in perspective, I have to share some of my backstory. I come from humble beginnings. Growing up, I hustled every single day. I wasn't going to be a victim of my circumstances. I wasn't going to be defeated. I am living proof that you can pick up the pieces after a tragic business loss.
 
After college, I moved to New York City. I opened Pinky's Jamaican & American Restaurant and it did very well despite the fact that I didn't really know what I was doing. I went to YouTube and Google University and that's where I learned everything that I could about starting a business.
 
I had my restaurant for two years, and I had 13 employees. One day after closing, I got the most devastating news ever. My ‘baby’ was on fire. I lost that restaurant due to a grease fire and I lost everything else. That was the most humbling experience of my life.
 
Fortunately, no one was hurt in the fire but things got extremely hard after that. I went from making about $35,000 a month to losing everything in one day. I was evicted from my apartment. My car was repossessed. I had so many bills, and I soon found myself in over my head. I went into a depressed state.
 
I had insurance, but I lost everything because I didn't have fire insurance. They don't teach you that in school. I didn't know that fire insurance wasn't under the umbrella of my business insurance policy.
 
Fast forward, and as I mentioned, I’m a hustler. I figured life out after the fire and created my second restaurant concept The Slutty Vegan. I also launched the Pinky Cole Foundation with the mission to empower generations of women of color to win at the pursuit of their entrepreneurial dreams.
 
Honestly, I needed what happened to happen to me early on. I've learned so much from the experience of losing it all.